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Computer scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have received about $9.5 million in grants to research computers and information technology.

The National Science Foundation today announced the distribution of some $90 million in grants to be distributed through an information technology program.

According to a university spokesman, five of the grants totaling about $7.4 million over the next five years will fund projects led by Berkeley faculty members.

UC computer scientists will collaborate on three other projects that will bring an additional $2.07 million to the university.

Projects Berkeley scientists will research include a study aimed at investigating server crashes and a study to find a way to eliminate software bugs before programs are released.

A global scientific network will also be creates to let scientist share data and results of computer simulations.

The grants are a result of President Clinton's Information Technology Advisory Committee, which recommended the president increase federal investments on information technology to continue the nation's role as a key figure in the global economy.

The chairman of Berkeley's computer science division, Christos H. Papadimitriou, is confident in the contributions of the university’s researchers.

“These UC Berkeley research groups have a significant track record of success in changing the industry, and now they're taking on a new challenge,” he said.

University scientist have been responsible for past technological achievements, such as the UNIX operating system, which is currently used on computer stations and for web services, as well as RISC chips at the center of Power PCs, used in the com